A good friend of mine made a request for this post, and I was really inspired by her idea. I picked 3 of my favorite kitchen products that were not super obvious. (For example, everyone already knows a good food processor, sharp knife, and stand mixer are great to have.)
Also a note - as stated in my disclosures page, I do receive a small commission from Amazon if you click on these product links and end up purchasing the product. I would highly recommend these products for any friend regardless of the commission.
Let's start the countdown!
3. Chef's Planet Glass Cruets, available in 30, 16, 8, and 5 ounce sizes.
I love this because the funnel is built-in; for our other oil or vinegar bottles I have to dirty a funnel to fill it, and then put it in the dishwasher, and the dispenser drips or gets gunky quickly (I know, life is really tough). This spout works perfectly, and I honestly don't know if it drips because the funnel thing will catch it if it does. Far superior to any other dispenser I've tried.
Sizes:
30 ounce (the link above): very generously sized, good for oft-used cooking oil.
16 ounce: I don't have this one, but good for cooking oil if you have very limited counter space and don't cook every day.
8 ounce: we use ours for extra virgin olive oil, which we don't run through quickly. I sprayed the bottom with mirror finish spray paint to protect the delicious sensitive compounds from sunlight.
5 ounce: given how small the 8 ounce is, I don't foresee a need for this guy; it only holds a little over half a cup.
Cons: They are a bit pricey, and I kinda wish the glass were a little bit thicker just for peace of mind, though I've never had either of mine crack on me. But most of all, I also wish they made them with square bases with straight sides, so that I could line them up more neatly and they would take up less counter space. (Manufacturer, can you hear me??)
2. Microfiber Cleaning Cloths
Do the math: our household of 2 humans and 2 dogs used to consume a big pack of paper towels from from Costco 2-3 times a year, which means we probably spent roughly $50 on paper towels a year. Since we've bought these cleaning cloths, I think paper towel consumption has decreased at least a third, so they paid for themselves in less than a year. It's a cheaper and greener way to clean, and they're also good for dusting computers and TVs. Since they're amazingly absorbent, they clean up spills really quickly. Plus the 3 colors are really helpful; we use green in the kitchen/eating areas, blue in the bathroom, and yellow for other furniture and outdoors. I've been washing them with bleach to help sanitize, and they haven't suffered from that even after 2 years of use.
Nitpick cons: the way the fabric has loops often catches debris like dry leaves or little twigs. This is actually good thing for cleanup, but then they're also hard to shake off, though most debris comes off in the wash. Also, if you have an apartment or smaller home, a 48 pack will be pretty excessive, so I recommend splitting with 1 or 2 friends.
1. Cuisinox Drink Markers
You can use them on the stem as pictured on the product page, but the amazing is: you can also put the slit into the rim of any glass. Which makes them infinitely better than your standard wine charms and so great for company. I've seen similar products that have suction cups to stick to the outside of the glass, but reviews for those say they fall off easily and don't stick to plastic cups.
At least one of my friends has been looking for something similar for a long time, and I'm really excited I finally found it!
So there you have it, three wonderful kitchen products that I wish I had started using earlier. I guess in a way, having dogs is also a good kitchen tool too, because they vacuum up food crumbs. See how clean my floors are?!
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I wish i had this post before I bought my olive oil dispenser recently. oh well, i will keep it in mind for when i inevitably break mine! thanks for this post. :D
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